Category Archives: Culture Matters

Pretty. Worthless. From the WSJ: Currency Chaos in Venezuela Portends Write-Downs The Gentleman Economist once visited Venezuela, enjoying Caracas, Merida, Angel Falls, a quiet Andean village and a jungle adventure involving riverside hammocks and three days in handmade dugout canoes. Being an … Continue reading →

Price reduced? Good news for one third of Americans, but not for Peter Dreier From the NYT: What Housing Recovery? In the New York Times Opinion Pages Peter Dreier (Professor of Politics, Urban and Environmental Policy at Occidental College) bemoans that not … Continue reading →

I’m not sure this should be a federal issue From the NYT: San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro Is Said to Be HUD Pick in Cabinet Reshuffling It appears Julián Castro, an up-and-coming Democratic politician, may be the next choice to lead … Continue reading →

And if you’re a landlord, vice versa From the NYT: What’s Next, a Bouncer? Let’s see Rent Control for what it really is: a forced subsidy from landlords to tenants, a gift from politicians to renters in return for their votes … Continue reading →

Above the scientific method, too From the NYT: Christian College Faces Uproar After Bolstering Its View on Evolution Want to be a biology professor at Bryan College? First you have to sign a contract stating: “The origin of man was by … Continue reading →

“Waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists” This is probably a popular video on Al Jazeera One way to describe the conflict between Islam and the West is through the lens of Samuel P. Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations (Wikipedia, original Foreign … Continue reading →

We’d love to take your $50,000, but we can’t afford it From the S.F. Gate: S.F. landlords offer tenants tempting offers to move out This is what San Francisco rent control has become. 24 years ago, the Reyes family moved into … Continue reading →

What’s next, charging for a carry-on bag? From the S.F. Gate: UberX to charge $1 fee for passenger safety (More on Uber here) Uber has just jumped the shark. Today they announced a new $1 add-on fee for “Passenger Safety”, claiming … Continue reading →

Gentlemen, start your smartphone apps Today included a two-stop ride-sharing journey with a woman who drives for both Lyft and Uber. An observant amateur anthropologist, she clued me in to more on the differences between between these two competitors. First, … Continue reading →

Is that a drawbridge they could could pull up once they’re inside? (Thor Swift for The New York Times) From the NYT: Best, Brightest and Rejected: Elite Colleges Turn Away Up to 95% The U.S. college admissions racket spun itself up … Continue reading →